How Did The Renaissance Affect European Intellectual Life

The Renaissance was the rebirth of European civilization that involved a cultural movement that majorly affected European intellectual life. It unlocked the opportunity for new ideas that would gradually progress into concepts still used today. Throughout the 1400’s, European population increased, therefore the demand of trade also grew. The curiosity, religious faith, and the expanding Renaissance worldview, encouraged explorers to seek new trade routes by discovering new land and resources. The scientific revolution took place near the end of the Renaissance. Education developed into a significant part of life that inspired people to go beyond the norm. The increased focus on education also encouraged scientists to take a closer look at the
With these news discoveries, sparked tension amongst nations. “The Treaty of Tordesillas was an agreement between Spain and Portugal aimed at settling conflicts over lands newly discovered by explorers” (Encyclopedia). The signed agreement was put into effect to prevent war between the two most powerful Christian nations of the era. “The Treaty of Tordesillas set a new line of demarcation, a meridian located 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands. All lands discovered east of this line would belong to Portugal; all lands west of it, to Spain. The line split the ocean evenly” (Childress). This allowed no confusion between the two nations of where they had permission to explore. Whatever land discovered on each side opened the doors for new resources that would benefit them in wealth and power. New land was used to find faster trade routes that would allow new resources to be imported to the nations. Pope Alexander VI wrote, “The purpose of [the treaty was] discovering and seeking any mainlands and islands, and for the purpose of trade, barter, or conquest of any kind” (McDougal, and Littell). It was made clear that whatever new lands discovered by either country forever belonged to them, with no conflict. The Renaissance thrived on trading, therefore when explorers sought to find new land for their country to conquer, later helped them gain money and power, which would
Ferdinand de Magellan discovered what is known as the Philippines today, this discovery came out to be significant for Portugal. In the journal was written, “Name of the island of Good Signs, because they found some gold in it” (Thatcher). The discovery of gold was important because it gave Portugal the advantage of being able to gain wealth. During the Renaissance money was what gave power to nations, therefore it was a motivation to conquer more lands that developed into empires and overall become more powerful. The main objective of exploring was to find new trade routes, and that’s exactly what Portugal accomplished. “As a result, Portugal quickly grew rich from the monopoly on the eastern trade route to India and the Spice Islands” (Brown). Spices not only made merchants rich across the globe, it established vast empires, revealed entire continents to Europeans and tipped the balance of world power. They seized key ports around the Indian Ocean, home to many goods and spices that were unique. Given that Spain had permission to explore only west of the demarcation line allowed them to discover the Americas. “Spain was given free rein to conquer the rich cultures of the Aztec, Mayan and Inca Empires and to begin shipping vast cargoes of gold and silver bullion back across the Atlantic” (Childress). The discovery of these resources was significant because as it arrived in Europe from the Americas, the price of